D. Todd Christofferson

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D. Todd Christofferson
Second Counselor in the First Presidency
October 14, 2025 (2025-10-14)
Called byDallin H. Oaks
PredecessorHenry B. Eyring
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
April 5, 2008 (2008-04-05) – October 14, 2025 (2025-10-14)
Called byThomas S. Monson
End reasonCalled as Second Counselor in the First Presidency
LDS Church Apostle
April 10, 2008 (2008-04-10)
Called byThomas S. Monson
ReasonDeath of Gordon B. Hinckley; reorganization of First Presidency
Presidency of the Seventy
August 15, 1998 (1998-08-15) – April 5, 2008 (2008-04-05)
Called byGordon B. Hinckley
End reasonCalled to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
First Quorum of the Seventy
April 3, 1993 (1993-04-03) – April 5, 2008 (2008-04-05)
Called byEzra Taft Benson
End reasonCalled to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Personal details
BornDavid Todd Christofferson
(1945-01-24) January 24, 1945 (age 80)
American Fork, Utah, U.S.
EducationBrigham Young University (BA)
Duke University (JD)
Spouse(s)
Katherine Jacob
​
(m. 1968)​
Children5

David Todd Christofferson (born January 24, 1945) is an American religious leader and former lawyer who serves as second counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 2008 to 2025. He has been a church general authority since 1993. Christofferson is currently the seventh most senior apostle in the church.[1]

Christofferson grew up in Utah and New Jersey, and after high school served an LDS Church mission in Argentina. He then studied English literature at Brigham Young University (BYU) before attending law school at Duke University. After graduating from law school in 1972, Christofferson was a law clerk to Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia while Sirica presided over much of the legal proceedings stemming from the Watergate scandal. Christofferson then entered private practice and eventually became an in-house corporate lawyer.

Early life and education

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Christofferson was born on January 24, 1945, in American Fork, Utah. He grew up in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Lindon, Utah, and Somerset, New Jersey. As a young man, he served a two-year LDS Church mission in Argentina. His mission president was Richard G. Scott, with whom Christofferson would later serve in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After his mission, he graduated from BYU in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature and international relations. He then attended the Duke University School of Law, where he was an editor of the Duke Law Journal. He graduated in 1972 with a Juris Doctor.[2]

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After graduating from law school, Christofferson was a law clerk to Judge John Sirica of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1972 to 1974. Soon after Christofferson began his clerkship, Sirica was assigned to preside over the Watergate legal proceedings.[3] Sirica and Christofferson were the first outside the White House to hear the Nixon White House tapes. "Judge Sirica and I were shocked as we heard Nixon calmly ask how much money it would take to keep the Watergate burglars quiet," Christofferson said in a June 2017 address to faculty and students at Christ Church College in Oxford, England. "The judge and I couldn't believe, didn't want to believe what we were hearing … He passed me a note suggesting we rewind the tape and listen again. Up to this point we both still hoped that the president [of the United States] was not really involved, but this was indisputable."[4]

At the conclusion of his clerkship, Christofferson spent a year as an active duty member of the U.S. military.[5][6] He then spent several years in private practice at the Washington, D.C. law firm Dow Lohnes (now part of Cooley LLP) before becoming an in-house legal counsel for a healthcare corporation and for several banking companies.[6][7] At the time of his call as an LDS general authority in 1993, Christofferson worked in Charlotte, North Carolina, as an associate general counsel for NationsBank (now Bank of America).[6][8]

Personal life

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Christofferson married Katherine Jacob in the Salt Lake Temple on May 28, 1968.[2] They are the parents of five children.[7]

LDS Church service

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Prior to becoming a general authority, Christofferson served in the LDS Church as a bishop, stake president, and regional representative.[7] At the church's April 1993 general conference, Christofferson was called as a general authority and member of the First Quorum of the Seventy.[9] In August 1998, Christofferson became a member of the Presidency of the Seventy.[10]

As a seventy, Christofferson served as the executive director of the church's Family and Church History Department. While in this position he was involved in negotiations with Jewish leaders on policies on temple work for Holocaust victims, which concluded with the church stating that its members should only do such temple work for family members. He also was in charge of the department when the church completed the Freedman's Savings Bank Records project.[3]

On April 5, 2008, during the solemn assembly session of the church's general conference when Thomas S. Monson was sustained as church president, Christofferson was sustained as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.[11]

On October 14, 2025, Christofferson was announced as the new second counselor to church president Dallin H. Oaks in the First Presidency, with Henry B. Eyring serving as first counselor.[12] As a member of the First Presidency, Christofferson is regarded by church members as a prophet, seer, and revelator.

Works

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Articles

  • —— (Spring 2004), "Lest we forget: the meaning of Kirtland's history in the present", Journal of Mormon History, 30 (1), Mormon History Association: 104–119, OCLC 367833284[permanent dead link]
  • —— (15 July 2008), "An Oral History Interview with Elder D. Todd Christofferson" (PDF), The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, interviewed by Naftali, Timothy J.[clarification needed]

Honors

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Notes

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  1. ^ Apostolic seniority is generally understood to include all ordained apostles (including the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. On October 14, 2025, Dallin H. Oaks called him to serve in the First Presidency of the church. Seniority is determined by date of ordination, not by age or other factors. If two apostles are ordained on the same day, the older of the two is typically ordained first. See Succession to the presidency and Heath, Steven H. (Summer 1987). "Notes on Apostolic Succession" (PDF). Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 20 (2): 44–56. doi:10.2307/45216003. JSTOR 45216003..
  2. ^ a b Cook, Quentin L. (August 2008), "Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Prepared to Serve the Lord", Liahona: 8–13
  3. ^ a b Dethman, Leigh (2008-04-05), "Elder D. Todd Christofferson named new apostle; other leaders called", Deseret Morning News, archived from the original on August 25, 2010
  4. ^ Walch, Tad (15 June 2017). "Mormon apostle at Oxford: Lessons learned from Watergate scandal". Deseret News. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  5. ^ "D. Todd Christofferson Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles". ChurchofJesusChrist.org. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Cook, Quentin L. (August 2008). "Elder D. Todd Christofferson: Prepared to Serve the Lord". www.churchofjesuschrist.org.
  7. ^ a b c "Elder D. Todd Christofferson Of the Seventy", Ensign: 99, May 1993
  8. ^ 2005 Deseret News Church Almanac (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret News, 2004) p. 29
  9. ^ Monson, Thomas S. (May 1993), "The Sustaining of Church Officers", Ensign: 21
  10. ^ "Three called to the Presidency of Seventy", Church News, 1998-08-29
  11. ^ "First Presidency Sustained, New Apostle and Other Leaders Named", Newsroom, LDS Church, 5 April 2008
  12. ^ Dallin H. Oaks Named 18th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Newsroom, churchofjesuschrist.org. 14 October 2025. Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  13. ^ Walch, Tad (14 August 2017). "World Peace Prize presented in India to Mormon leader". Deseret News. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  14. ^ "Saint Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize to Christofferson". The Times of India. August 5, 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.

References

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